A mercenarys pilgrimage
by Arelyo
Summary: Mercenary Riona joins the pilgrimage of Yuna because she didnt find a client and needs a vacation either way. As a professed nonbeliever it seems like life is laughing at her initally. But what if the life she always despised turns out to be one she always longed for?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there :)**

 **I have been reading a lot of fanfiction over the last years and now I feel like I may be able to write something too. Since it is my absolute first don´t expect too much , I am trying but I am not a native english speaker (need to practise, that´s another reason ;) . So be warned. I am open for (gentle) critic if you want to :D**

 **Plans are a slowly building friendship between all characters and my OC, also a (very) slowly building romance with Auron. Will go with the game script but from time to time edit a few chunks. If I get too careless please say so.**

 **If you are still here you might be about to read this! So have fun :)**

 **Disclaimer: FFX and all it´s characters belong to Square Enix, I own nothing but my OCs.**

* * *

Maybe escorting a merchant to Luca while the huge tournament to honor the Maesters 50th year in the office was not the best idea, Riona mused. Just as the ship with her and her protegee arrived she could already feel the pulse of the city. Everybody was ready to cheer for their favorite team and if it weren't for the blitzball all the supporters of Yevon, what meant almost everybody, would celebrate the Maesters anniversary. The moment the ship came to halt was when the first people jumped to the mainland and vanished pacing in the crowd.

It was a bad idea. She took her time, shouldering the few wares of her merchant and escorted him to the market of Luca. A deal was a deal after all and so they both made a slow way to the city. "Have you seen the ship with summoner Braskas daughter? Heard she wants to journey like he did, I hope she succeeds just like her father", the merchant mumbled cheerfully. Riona only nodded. What difference made another summoner to the sea of them? It was not like it was impossible to become a summoner and many decided to break up their journey when it became too dangerous. "Hope so, too. But you never know", she answered lazily.

The market was spreading out in front of them and both let out a sigh. The wares were heavy after all. She had not even asked what it was but decided to not bother now. "This should be it. We arrived safely." The merchant cheered. "Yes we did! Nothing has gone missing unlike the last time I came here..." He seemed lost in thought for a moment and with a soft "ahem" Riona brought him back to reality. "Ah sure, I won't forget. Here is your payment and also a small bonus. I would like to travel with you again if I have the chance. Until then maybe enjoy the game tomorrow?" She only nodded and left with a rather forced smile. He was not her best client and though the bonus was nice she silently cursed for accepting this job.

Her chances to get away soon were minimal now that everybody wanted to stay and see the game. She would find herself a place for the night and maybe even watch the game tomorrow but after this she would need to get another client, need to get out of this city. Maybe something more exiting.

Riona found what she looked for after a long stroll; most inns were booked out after all but she wasn't picky. The owner had a small room left, big enough for a bed, a small table and an even smaller window. It gave a nice view across the whole city. This was what made the tiny room expensive. She decided to rest for another hour or so, enjoying the view, before she would go back into town, visit a smith to sharpen her sword and have a drink afterwards.

Having asked the inn owner for a good smith she soon found herself at the shop. It looked like there was much work to do, dozens of swords stood there, waiting to get sharpened and two apprentices were darting around without taking a break. Something was going on there. She moved towards the counter and waited, further inspecting the shop. Maybe there was something that could be useful. "How may I help ya?" A dark tanned man in his fifties grunted in a deep voice. "I want that", she unsheathed her longsword, "to get sharpened and inspected. Do what is necessary". He took the long blade out of her hands and looked inquisitively at it. "Mhm, unusual for a lady to wield a sword like this but I see ya two get along nicely. Give me until tomorrow, best after the game and I am done." Riona winced inwardly, almost a day without her sword was hard but now she had the time. "Okay. See you then." As she was ready to move the smith called her back. "Here", and threw her a small dagger, "don't want ya to be all weaponless, just in case." She nodded thankfully and gave him a smile. "Take care."

She wasn't in the mood for a drink so she decided to watch ships arriving at the harbor. Ever since a child she and her friend Tommen did this when they had time to kill. It was soothing, sitting there wand wathcing ships arrive as the sun descended. They had always imagined how it would be, traveling the wide world in a ship and seeing the wonders out there. Not being a poor fisherman. She missed him. It was not what she expected at all, it felt dull, more like a chore than the magnificent adventures she always dreamt of.

Having found a place she relaxed and watched the sailors do their work; loading and transporting, polishing the planks and painting the hull. From time to time another ship would arrive and merchants, tourists and a few locals were pouring out of the ship until the were blending in with the crowd. Lost on thought nothing really caught her interest until she saw a man in a dark red coat passing by, unmoved by neither crowd nor wind. She wasn't completely sure but he may have shot a quick glance with sunglass covered eyes in her direction before he moved onward to the city.

The night was uneventful, she had heard a few drunkards passing by but otherwise nothing happened. The first night in bed after having spent the nights on the cold ground was always the best. She yawned. Maybe it would be the best idea to get another contract now before all were taken. She changed quickly into her armour, examined the small dagger the smith had given her and tested its weight before she was ready. Breakfast was calling first.

An omelette, several notice boards and inquiries later she had still no job. A female lone mercenary was, although nobody spoke it out loud, extraordinary. Most mercenaries joined the order of Yevon or became warrior monks, home guardians or guardians of a summoner because they perceived it as an honor. But Riona didn't. And because she would say so if somebody asked her it did not make her much loved among the more spiritual people in Spira.

There was still some time until the game would begin so she made her way to the market. Her armour could use an update after all. She always wore a light, flexible leather armour that covered her torso, beneath a black or white shirt, a pair of thickly woven black trousers and sturdy leather boots. Only her left arm was covered by a few metal plates and a metal-coated glove that allowed to keep her movement range and, if necessary, to dodge a few hits. She only added them recently after having experienced that a fiends blow could do more damage than expected. It had made her enjoy a two weeks vacation. What she could need was another pouch, large enough for a few potions just in case. So Riona wandered around until she found the perfect one and bought it after a harsh session of bargaining. How tourism did increase the prices. "Luckily" enough the vendor had also a ticket to sell, the price he made suggested he wanted to get rid of this thing very fast.

So it was sealed. Now it was time for the game.


	2. Chapter 2

As Riona arrived at the arena she took a minute to memorise this sight. It was a huge stadion and, like all blitzball arenas, already filled with water that was being held within the machina apperate inside. More happy fans moved inside and were loudly discussing who would win at the games, odds were, Riona learned, high for the Goers who would play against the loser team, the Aurochs. If they would defeat the Al Bhed psyches first. As she was ready to enter two figures ran outside, a boy with blonde hair and a rather alternative outfit that showed unusual much (defined) skin and a girl with a long white robe and a staff in his wake. The boy dragged her energetically along and the girl only smiled while trying not to shove other people away. Could that be the famous summoner Yuna? As they vanished a small Ronso without a horn followed them in a hurry. Riona shook her head and made her way inside.

Inside merchants were trying to sell their fan articles, scarves as well as shirts or even a few signated blitzballs but Riona was only interested in getting a bite to eat. She decided for a corncob and made her way slowly to the upper stadion ranks as she saw a familiar red coat. The man was standing at a corner, almost as if hiding while he was observing his surroundings. Now Riona noticed the huge sword that leaned to a wall next to him and felt a spark of interest rising. Who was he and how would he fight with that sword? Maybe it was only professional curiosity, maybe it was not since she had the feeling this man would play an important part somehow.

There was a seat where she could watch him from the corners of her eyes and she gladly slithered into the row, waiting for something to happen.

Next to her said an elderly woman with a girl that was beaming as she cheered loudly "Aurochs, Aurochs, Aurochs!" after the announcer loudly proclaimed: "This is it, folks! In just a few minutes, the championship game!". Riona had to smile at that, seeing people happy like this was reason enough to play this game.

"You are here on your own?", the older woman asked her. As she nodded the woman continued: "You don't look as cheerful as my granddaughter does but I fear that's hard to copy", she chuckled. Riona approved of the attempt to make conversation since the older woman had something likable about her. "Yeah, I am not really into blitzball but I have the time so..", and she was disturbed by the announcer again: "But who could have imagined… a championship game between these two teams? Our legendary Luca Goers going against… the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!".

"I know, I know. Can't say it is my favorite but all the sacrifices we make. Oh look, they are starting!", with this the older woman reached into her bag and took out two small flags that read "Team Aurochs" out and gave one to her daughter and one to Riona. "They're already going at it, folks! The Goers are taunting the Aurochs! And there it is, what a great play, the Goers score first!" The young girl winced at this but continued to cheer with even more enthusiasm than before. Riona decided to go with it and began waving the flag (though a bit halfheartedly) too.

They watched a game full of suspense and even Riona could make out that the Goers had a hard time to fight against the Aurochs. Their spirit seemed unbroken. But rather too soon the announcer declared the halftime, Aurochs one point behind the Goers. The girl now turned to Riona and smiled broadly while asking which team was her favorite and which player she liked, questions which Riona answered only half truthful since she did not care much but did not want to destroy the child´s spirit. "I like the Aurochs, too. Especially the guy with the orange hair, he seems fun", she improvised. It seemed to suffice and the girl continued, listing all the names and titles of the last years teams.

The second half time began. Now she recognized the blonde guy that ran out of the stadion a few minutes earlier as one of the Aurochs players. That guy sure had nerves to go shopping so shortly before the game begun, she thought. But with his help, a really complicated shot that left no chance for the goalkeeper, the Aurochs quickly regained the lead, followed by a huge wave of Auroch-cheering. "The crowd is going wild!", was all the commentator had to say. But soon the crowds calling changed into a chant, they were demanding "Wakka". Only a few seconds later the blonde player left, leaving all wondering. "Say… Where is that player going? He's leaving the sphere pool! He may be injured!" But as Wakka, Mr. orange hair, entered the stadion again the crowd was bursting with energy. Clearly not in the best shape Wakka defended successfully, only dragging the game to an end but with the advance the blonde player had made it was no problem. The victory was announced: "Unbelievable! The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!" and almost everybody in the stadion cheered. Only the Goers looked grim.

Riona gave back the flag the old woman had given her and noticed that she lost track of red coat. She mumbled a quick thanks and then left looking for him. Just as she caught a glimpse of red at the entering stands chaos erupted.

The blonde player came back into the pool, cheering together with Wakka as fiends started to show up right in the pool and at entrances of the stadion. The crowd, previously peacefully celebrating, turned into a screaming mob that ran for his and only his own life. Riona absentmindedly grabbed at her hilt to find her sword missing only to remember the dagger she received from the smith. It happened seldom that she was this much relieved. But there was no time, she took a few quick steps ahead, eye to eye with the next fiend that made his way to attack some defenseless spectators. A dagger wasn't the same as a sword, however, and her preemptive strike missed but now she was the center of attention. The fiend, a larger wolf like one, took his chances and struck her, but Riona could deflect with her left arm plates. A few precise cuts later the fiend was gone and she moved forward only to find 3 more blocking her way.

Though she could have done that on her own, she was sure of it, Riona was relieved the red coat joined her and struck one down with a hit. He then simply nodded at her, gesturing to continue. They were effective, she was weakening the fiends with quick cuts while he finished them with a gigantic blow, and soon cut a swath trough the fiends. Then orange head Wakka and blonde boy joined them, both surprised shouting "Auron, Sir Auron!". It was not long until the next event happened; Maester Seymour summoned his gigantic anima, a constrained and blind one that onehitted the remaining fiends. As the chaos was ended everyone calmed down notably. The group of fighters looked at each other and began to move to the locker room. Riona would have left here but as she turned, red coat put a hand at her shoulder and gestured her to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

She found herself in the locker rooms where Wakka was talking animatedly to his Team. Blonde boy was standing nearby and cheered as well until he saw Riona. "Hey there, good fight earlier!", he reacted upon seeing her looking confused. "Name is Tidus by the way. So uhm, what are you doing here?". Point was she did not know either. She shrugged her shoulders, ready to leave but was stopped by a woman in a tight fitting, dark dress with belts in front of the skirt, the likely summoner Yuna next to her. "You... I have seen you fighting. What are you doing here?", she demanded to know.

Riona noticed that she had two different eye colours and one with a small spiral in it. Could it be? "Maybe Yuna" came to help: "It is okay Lulu, you don't have to be overly suspicious, I doubt she will do us any harm. Besides, we have Tidus and Wakka here to guard us." A glance to the blonde haired boy told the group he was absorbed in celebrating the Aurochs victory.  
Riona was coughing nervously as she tried to explain but mid-sentence realized how weird it sounded. "Oh, I have just been here to watch the game until the fiends appeared. Later then a man shoved me in this direction and then I ended up here. I ... will leave now. Sorry to bother you."

"Wait a second!", Yuna interrupted her move. She looked to Lulu who cocked her head slightly to the side but then nodded, the tiniest nod, and Yuna continued: "We can always need fighters like you. If you want I would like you to accompany us for a while. We are leaving in 2 hours and meet at the balcony leading to Mi´ihen Road. I'd be happy to see you then."

Outside the stadion Riona felt like she could breathe again. Now the crowd had calmed and was wandering almost relaxed trough the city, except for the many merchants that were always busy. She could now get her sword and then get another contract. Or just leave the city? Join the summoner? She harrumphed. Of course, she would become a summoners guardian after she resisted so long to fulfill this old-fashioned duty. She was a sell sword after all! But why was there this feeling like she was about to miss something? If she had her sword it did not matter what happened she told herself and so she headed to the smith.

"Here ye are! Yer sword was missing ye, girl!", the smith shouted just as he caught a glimpse of her. Riona entered the shop and found even more swords lying around than yesterday. It was nice that the smith had found the time to take care of hers. He took out a long blade, polished and visibly sharpened. "Gave it some of ma special treatment, should slice trough fiends like butter now." She nodded and took the blade in one hand, swinging it as she heard it cutting the air. "It is good. How much do I owe you?" The smith burst out laughing. "Ye should see yeself girl, are yer always this dead serious? Lighten up a bit, would ye? Do owe me 450 Gil." As the money changed its owner the smith began to bid her farewell: "If yer ever have something that needs a bit attention show it to me, it's clearly better than those dull swords there.", his huge hand pointed to the row of swords leaning at the wall. "Ah, and 'm Eddie by the way." A strong handshake. "I am Riona. Thank you, I will. And here is the dagger you gave me. It was a good idea." And with this she left, slightly touching the hilt of her sword now that they both were unified again.

She found herself facing the balcony heading to Mi´ihen road. Spotting the smaller Ronso, Wakka, Lulu and summoner Yuna she hesitated. Was this what she wanted to do? Another client would have brought her a few more Gil until she came to the next town and did the same thing. She did this for seven years now and felt that it began to wear her down. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from the mysterious swordsman or get to know a summoner? If she could see this as a vacation she was free to end anytime perhaps this could work. Nobody had said a thing about officially becoming a guardian after all.

Reluctantly she reached the balcony and was soon greeted by a smile from Yuna. Wakka looked confused whereas Lulu and the Ronso watched her every step. "I knew you would come!", the summoner greeted her while the others simply nodded. "We are still waiting for Tidus but then we are ready to leave." The orange haired guy she already knew as Wakka made his way to stand in front of Riona. "Hey there, I am Wakka. Have seen ya at the game, nice fighting you did back there. If you want to accompany us be sure to take care, ya?" "I will." Yuna smiled and Riona took a place near the

Yuna smiled and Riona took a place near the Ronso who stood there stoically. It was plain they were waiting for somebody else and she heard the three talking.  
"Do you think he's gonna stay here?", Wakka began.  
"Sir Auron knows him, apparently. You were right. He did meet someone he knew.", Lulu, the older black dressed woman explained. "Do you think he'll find a way back to Zanarkand?", Yuna asked but Wakka waived it off. "In any case, I'll miss having him around."

Riona could feel them growing nervous with every second that passed until the summoner was about to turn and was taken aback by surprise. "He's still in town, isn't he? I think I'll go see him… Oh! ... Sir Auron?"  
Yuna, Wakka and Lulu were bowing as the red coated man, presumably Auron or Sir Auron, with Tidus following approached them.  
"Yuna.", he said. "Sir?" It wasn't hard to feel the aura of respect that surrounded Auron. "I wish to become your guardian. Do you accept?" It was more a statement then a question, nevertheless Yuna let out a small gasp, accompanied by a "Are you serious" from Wakka. "You refuse?" Yuna almost shrieked: "No, no! We accept! Right, everyone?" "Of course! No problem at all!" Lulu regained her composure and was the first one to ask: "But why?" Auron shifted. "I promised Braska." Yuna looked puzzled for a moment but then bowed deeply before Auron. "Thank you, You are welcome to join us!" Auron yanked Tidus forward. "This one comes too. I promised Jecht." Tidus bowed awkwardly as he now stood in the small circle that had formed. "Hey guys.."

After this Tidus roamed around while the others relaxed, waiting for some kind of signal to break up. Riona decided to get to know Lulu better since she was sure the Ronso, Kimhari, would not talk again today now that he already revealed his name in one short sentence. She slowly approached Lulu, who was staring at the city. "Hey." Lulu turned around. "So you accompany us too. Not as a guardian, however. Tell me a bit about yourself." Riona was startled. If there was something she loathed it was "go ahead and tell me about yourself". "I.. well I am a sell sword but I decided not to get another contract right now. Your group seems clearly more interesting." Lulu chuckled. "Yes, you can say that. I feel it will get even more thrilling. I am the blackmage of the group if you should have wondered." A small stab of regret passed trough Riona. "Oh, that's cool. Did try this when I was younger but I failed miserably. Can you turn water while in a glass into small ice cubes?" Lulu hesitated for a moment, clearly taken aback by that unforeseen question. "Yes, I can. We could try to train this sometime if you feel bored with that sword." Both chuckled at this and Riona felt the tension leaving her body.

Only then they heard the bizarrest laughter coming from Tidus. He stood at the balcony with Yuna , who laughed about him but joined his strange laughing a second later. The guardians exchanged quick glances but had to smile afterwards. Only Kimhari and Auron remained dispassionately.

As the finished laughing, Wakka shouted: "We were just worried you guys might've gone crazy!" Are we ready to go?" Yuna took the lead. "To the Temple of Djose. And guardians, don't forget to smile!"

Riona joined the ranks but made sure to stay a bit behind, she disliked walking in front and always made sure she was the last one to follow. But now Auron claimed this place. She could feel his eyes watching her trough the sunglasses he wore but remembered it was only natural to not trust any newcomers the first day they joined. Especially if you had to guard the hope of Spira.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hello! I haven't forgotten you or this story, I was really busy and somehow the new chapters didn't seem good enough to be published :l But since I gave the promise to myself to finish this I will continue neverthless. Maybe a tad slower but there will be more chapters :D_**

 ** _Hope you enjoy it so far. If you have ideas, requests or corrections please feel free to tell me :) So enough babbling, let's continue!_**

Mi'ihen Road was a very long road. They started out optimistic but found themselves quite exhausted after more and more fiends blocked their way. At first they encountered some armoured ones that looked really tough but Tidus optimism did not waver. "Hah! That one looks slow.", he noted. Auron countered. "It's also though. Let me handle this." But Tidus did not listen and attacked. "I can take it!" His sword just made a noise but otherwise was deflected by the fiends armour. "What the...?" Now it was Aurons turn and he heaved his huge sword up and with a powerful hit it slid trough the armour and the fiend dissolved into pyreflies. "I could have done that!", Tidus huffed.

But now that everybody knew about the armour it was easier to weaken them for the final blow. Riona, though not as strong as Auron nor as agile as Tidus, did her best to assist her comrades. Lulu finished most of the fiends with her Blitzra magic (Riona was not sure what role the small stuffed animal played, Lulu called it Moogle) and Wakka threw his blitzball full power at them. When she had wondered at first how it was possible to fight with only a blitzball Riona soon learned how effective it was. Flying fiends stood no chance against Wakkas blitzball. Sometimes Auron would charge in but it became clear to her he left the group a chance to improve themselves.

After a while the reached the remains of what used to be a tower. In front of it stood an old man, white beard and glasses only one sign of his advanced age, who was eying the ruins like they would tell them a story if he kept up long enough. As he saw Tidus inspecting the ruins he asked him where the ruins might be from. Tidus answer "Some old city?" made Riona cringe. There was something about that boy she could not cope with. To her delight Auron let out a quiet sigh as Maechen, now that the old man had introduced himself, lectured the group. She must have snorted unconsciously because everyone now stared at her. "Sorry, don't mind me.", was all she could bring out.

Only a few metres after Maerchen the group met some chocobo knights. Knights because two of them were armoured and riding a chcocobo while the third did his best to catch his breath as the two were greeting the summoner. The riding ones introduced themselves as Lucil and Elma. They were sent to patrol the road to report any larger fiends that might appear. Lucil spoke out a warning: "There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos. Do take care, Summoner Yuna, if you are to rent any chocobos."

Yuna thankfully bowed and as both parties wished their farewells Tidus spirit began to show anew. "A large fiend…Let's go get him!", he shouted like it was a mere adventure and not some life threatening risk. Riona could see Lulu and Waka whispering as Auron reacted to Tidus energy outburst and asked why they would do such a thing. "Because it's the right thing to do!" Auron only chuckled in his low voice. "It's the right thing to do?" as Tidus was about to answer Auron continued neverthless. "Jecht said that a lot, too. And every time he said it, it meant trouble for Braska and me." That brought him an "ohh" from Wakka and everybody knew it was time to move on.

Riona still walked behind the others and in front of Auron but she declared she became bored. Maybe Lulu would think the same and they could talk. She decided to like the black mage; her first impression was that Lulu might be arrogant and cold but the few words she had changed with her had proven her wrong. She moved forward, surpassing Yuna, who was giggling as Tidus babbled animatedly, and Kimahri but not Wakka, who now took the lead, and went next to Lulu.

"Hey there", she said. Lulu smiled softly. "Getting bored behind there?" Riona nodded. "Thought so. Same here. So, tell me, where do you learned to fight this way?"

"I taught myself a lot and during my journeys I have met some swordsmen who could always show me a thing or two." Riona took her blade out for Lulu to see it clearly.

"Its forged to wield with either one or two hands what makes it really versatile." Lulu took the sword in her hands and examined it. "It looks like a lot of work was put in it. Where do you got that from?" Riona hesitated. She did not want to tell Lulu the full story of how she came into possession of the sword, it was ... personal. Lulu registered her hesitation and chuckled.

"No need to tell me now honey. I can wait if you want to. Everybody here has personal issues to deal with and if you need time then we give you time." Riona smiled wholeheartedly at this. It sure came unexpected but it shrinked the worries she had when departing. Maybe it would not be so bad at all.

Tidus already let out few sighs of tiredness and Wakka joined in. Riona herself felt worn down, walking all the time and fighting fiends was not too entertaining for her taste. On her missions she was the one who decided when and where to rest and mostly she was the only one to get rid off the fiends. Altough she greatly missed the times when she was in command it felt comfortable to simply trust the choices a leader made for his party.

She was interrupted when an upset young woman all dressed in green robes discussed with a crusader. Riona heard pieces of "any way we can" and then the crusader stormed off, leaving a vulnerable looking woman behind. "Are you alright?" Riona wondered how Yuna managed to be so kind and modest all the time. The girl was also taken aback and bowed right after Yuna introduced herself.

"It is an honor, my lady. My name is Shelinda. I am a disciple of Yevon." Wakka, an ardent believer of Yevons teachings, that much Riona had made out easily, jumped in: "What was all that about? The Crusaders' operation?" The disciple shortly explained that the order of Yevon was about to launch an attack to defeat sin using forbidden machina. She had to stop them. Lulu stated, as a matter of fact, that "the use of machina is strictly forbidden by the Yevon priesthood." Wakka looked to Auron as if waiting for him to confirm this but the red dressed warrior simply answered: "Let them use whatever they want. They still won't defeat Sin." Wakkas face displayed absolute disbelief. Tidus did not seem fully aware of what was being discussed here and simply stared into the air. "But, it's not about defeating Sin! The teachings of Yevon must be upheld!", Shelinda angrily answered with Wakka approving her.

Shelinda made her low rank responsible for nobody listening to her, but Yuna firmly reminded her that ranks were not everything: "Well, I haven't been a summoner for very long myself, you see. Still, I can't put myself down every time I fail. People are depending on me. They're depending on both of us!" Shelinda seemed to think about this, wished the group a hearthly farewell (only Kimahri looked digruntled as she left) and told them she would become a nun now. If all things were as easy as a small motivational speech Riona chuckled to herself. But she was in good spirits too and, as Auron mentioned, an agency was not too far away from them.

As the shop came into view Riona noticed in an instant that it was run by Al Bhed. She had spent almost a year living with them and the small details, such as edgy woven patterns and few extra gadgeds like fans were an evidence Al Bhed were around.

"We rest here.", Auron declared. "But, this is an Al Bhed shop!", Wakka interposed. Auron turned and looked over the edge of his sunglasses as he formed the next question. "Is that a problem?" Wakka countered: "They don't believe in Yevon, and in Luca they… They kidnapped Yuna!" But Auron remained calm. "Where were her guardians?" Now it was Wakkas turn to sheepishly rub his head and fade into the background.

Yuna looked as tired as did Lulu, Tidus seemed okay as did Auron, only Kimahri did not seem to be affected by a bit. Riona herself felt every muscle in her body. It has been a long time since she had been fighting this hard, she thought grimly. Maybe she should not have taken so many contracts that were only about escorting merchants in the first place. However it felt right; Riona did not want to throw away her life for a few extra Gil that would only be spent for drinking and gambling.

Everybody had settled down at the small inn; the Al Bhed, Mr. Rin, did not mind Wakkas resentment but was rather impressed by Yunas humility. Supper was still in the making, probably fish, and so everybody made himself comfortable around the small shop. The sun was going down slowly and Riona caught herself thinking about home. How she happily spent her days catching fish and in the evenings, sat there with Tommen, sometimes also Tina and Michan, her best friends, and devoured some roasted fish like it was a feast. Oh, how Riona wished for everything to be that simple again.

She hated herself for those sentimental moments. Yuna however came shortly after to her rescue. "How are you doing? I have seen you are indeed great at fighting.", she started almost shyly. "I am fine, thank you."

Silence unfolded. Riona knew she was not easy to approach but she simply was not interested in chattering, especially now. Yuna shifted uncomfortably and continued neverthless: "I heard Sir Auron wants to talk to you. I am sure he only wants to make sure you are no threat but please dont feel unwelcome. He is right there, near the tent. I wish you a nice evening", and so Yuna left cheerfully, bowing before she headed to Tidus who was enjoying his view from the cliff ahead of them.

Riona made her way slowly, somehow she was not too exited to meet Auron. At first she had the hope he might be able to teach her a thing or two but as they travelled in absolute silence it became clear to her he wanted to be left alone. She wasnt even sure if he wanted to be called Auron or Sir Auron, but since Tidus went with only Auron she decided calling him so too. He could complain if he he wanted to after all.

She came around the corner of the tent and immediatly red caught her focus. Auron stood there, left arm shed out of his coat, and was breathing hard while he swung his sword in a steady rythm. He noted her as soon as she entered his field of vision and rammed his sword into the ground so it stood freely. Sunglasses still on his eyes, despite the imminent sunset, he examined Riona. His gaze stopped at her sword. "Care to use this?" She nodded and unsheated her longsword. It was hers and only hers to take hand on. Tommen gave it to her as a present as they celebrated their 4th year anniversary. It deserved mindfulness.

Auron was patiently waiting for her to make a move.

And she did. She started attacking in wild swings only to test his reflexes. They were good. She then tried to reach his body with more ellaborate swings, bluffing and countering as best as she could. Her opponent remained alert and was able to block all of her attacks but did nothing to land an attack himself. Riona was tiring slowly but quite certain and soon she was breathing hardly while Aurons breahting had normalised. He did not falter and went to attack mode when the first signs of exhaustion were clearly visible. Riona had not noticed this before but his former only vigorous hits were also fairly accurate. She tried to step aside but failed miserably. His first stroke hit her right below her rips, the next one knocked her legs down. She was kneeling at the ground, breathing rapidly and feeling humiliated. Relentless Riona shot a glance at Auron who in turn only scowled.

"You tire yourself out far too fast. How do you want to be a good guardian if none of your attacks will hit?" She wanted to object at the guradian part but there was not enough air left to speak. He rammed the sword into the ground and moved foreward, standing before a kneeling Riona. She knew he wanted to take her sword but she did not want to let loose. He raised his brow at her but kept quiet. She slowly succumbed, giving her sword to him. Auron took it and swung it, albeit carefully. "I see now." Riona wanted to laugh at this, the whole situation was even more awkward than she could have ever imagined but Auron ignored this. "You are neither fast nor strong. Are you sure this is the weapon you want to wield?"

Devasted by this simple remark Riona managed a faint "yes". How could he simply judge her after a moment of fighting? Whatever a legendary guardian was, as Wakka had told her admiringly, how could he be so arrogant? Still kneeling in the dirt Riona managed to stand up. Auron gave her sword back. "Good."


End file.
